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Bringing Jobs Back to the United States with Moto X

Joining me this week on PowerTalk to talk about the Moto X and Motorola’s re-shoring of jobs is Mark Randall, Motorola Mobility’s senior vice president of Supply Chain and Operations.

We all now recognize the July 2013 Employment Report not only fell short of expectations, with just 162,000 jobs added during the month, but sifting through the details, it can easily be labeled a low quality report:

The unemployment rate fell only because more Americans left the labor force than the total number of jobs created during July.

Where we saw job growth was primarily at low-paying and part-time jobs.

Wages remain under pressure.

The news media is also abuzz about the latest and greatest new device, be it a new smartphone, tablet or streaming device that attaches to the back of your TV. We, as a people, are connecting and interacting with each other more than ever, thanks to the explosion in smartphones. Almost 230 million smartphones were shipped during the June quarter alone. While that sounds like a lot, industry data points to more than 3.2-million mobile subscriptions. That forecast indicates the shift from mobile phones to smartphones is far from over.

One company that is looking to tackle both of these trends is Motorola Mobility, which is owned by Google. Not only did the two entities last week announce the Moto X — the first jointly developed smartphone between the two companies, but the device will be manufactured here in the United States.

That’s right… Motorola Mobility is re-shoring jobs to the tune of 2,200 when the Moto X smartphone is at full production.

During my PowerTalk with Mark, we talk about what it takes to make the Moto X such a highly customizable device and why domestic manufacturing can compete with China and other low-cost manufacturing alternatives. With a facility in Fort Worth, Texas, that spans more than 500,000 square feet, I suspect Motorola is just getting started with the Moto X, and that’s good for not only Google, but for American jobs.

Listen to my behind-the-scenes PowerTalk conversation now, so you are even more in the know.

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